CNX Kickstarts Development with Valence 5.1

A new release of the Valence Framework from CNX will enable IBM i shops to get more Web programming and modernization work done with even less effort than before.

The Chicago-based company has been speaking the “less is more” mantra since the 2014 launch of Valence 4.0, one of the first releases that included Nitro add-on tools that handle tasks on behalf of the user. After all, why should the user get bogged down in the intricacies of coding JavaScript when software can do it instead?

Nitro’s auto-coding capabilities are once again front-and-center in Valence 5.1, which CNX launched two weeks ago at the COMMON conference in Orlando, Florida. Specifically, the enhancements land in Nitro Query, the add-on tool for building graphical Web or mobile apps that can query the DB2 for i database.

With Valence 5.1, CNX is doing its best to give Nitro Query many of the features and functions needed to use it as a replacement for green-screen maintenance applications. Employees spend a lot of time in these applications, so why should customers be the only ones to benefit from the Web and mobile fun?
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Specifically, Nitro Query now gets support for edit grids with joined files. This allows users to build file maintenance applications that can access and update two or more DB2 for i files at the same time.

Nitro Query also gains support for making external RPG calls, another feature that that users of 5250 service programs take for granted, but which wasn’t previously available with Nitro Query programs.

The utility can also now use a pre-existing SQL statement as the basis for a new auto-generated Nitro Query program by importing the query from STRQRY. Users can also directly paste in SQL statements to enable instant conversion into a grid or spreadsheet.

This feature will jumpstart the creation of file maintenance apps more than any other. “This handles it for you automatically,” CNX Senior Partner Robert Swanson told IT Jungle at the COMMON show.

With Valence 5.1, CNX is bolstering the capability of IBM i shops to quickly build Web-based maintenance apps with Nitro Query.

Richard Milone, the CTO of CNX, says the new release will make it easier for resource-strapped IBM i shops to begin generating the kinds of applications and user experiences that users demand.

“Development resources on IBM i are often stretched pretty thin just keeping daily operations humming,” Milone says in a press release. “So, Valence 5.1 Nitro Query tool addresses this problem by serving as an intuitive tool for quickly whipping out highly functional IBM i applications with a rich user interface within minutes of installation.”

Other new features in Valence 5.1 include a new pivot grid widget in Nitro Query, which will make it easier for users to visualize large data sets. Users also get more options for using images, icons, links, and texts.

The software also gains the capability to utilize Node.js for back-end business logic. Valence currently supports RPG, PHP, and Java, while its support for Node.js is limited to beta at the moment.

Valence 5.1 also includes a copy of Ext JS version 6.2, the latest version of the JavaScript library from Sencha. The updated framework makes it easier to build feature-rich, cross-platform Web apps that deploy and render correctly on smartphones, tablets, and PCs with just one development effort, Milone says.

“With Ext JS and Valence, we’re capitalizing on the emerging convergence of devices of multiple shapes and sizes being used to interact with corporate systems,” he says.

Valence is a set of tools for creating Web and mobile applications that run under IBM i’s Apache Web server and access existing RPG business logic. The product has several components, including an OEM version of the Ext JS JavaScript library from business partner Sencha; a set of RPG procedures for integrating the JavaScript-based front-end with existing RPG business logic; and a Web portal framework that provides customers with pre-built navigation and security. On top of this core, CNX offers several Nitro add-ons, including Nitro Query, Nitro AutoCode, Nitro iAdmin, Nitro File Editor, and Nitro Source Editor.

CNX will provide the core Valence Framework as a free product for any IBM i customers under its Community Developer license (although it’s limited to five seats maximum). Additional features, such as the Nitro apps, can be activated on a per-IBM i partition basis. For more info, see www.cnxcorp.com.